Odisha’s transition towards a green economy could generate more than one lakh potential jobs over the next decade, driven by renewable energy, green hydrogen and ammonia, electric mobility, battery manufacturing, bioenergy and the circular economy, according to the “Odisha’s Green Economy Workforce” report by iFOREST.
The report estimates that renewable energy alone could support about 29,337 jobs by 2030 and 57,375 jobs by 2035. In addition, projects already approved in Odisha’s green investment pipeline could generate another 48,405 jobs between 2030 and 2035. Together, the current project pipeline and renewable-energy expansion indicate the potential for more than one lakh green jobs in less than a decade.
DRE-A Thrust Area
The renewable-energy employment opportunity is expected to be heavily concentrated in distributed renewable energy (DRE). The report projects 23,073 DRE jobs by 2030, rising to 46,807 by 2035. Solar PV is estimated to account for 1,511 jobs by 2030 and 2,311 by 2035, while small hydro could support 1,955 jobs and pumped storage projects 600 jobs by 2030.
According to the report, DRE has an employment coefficient nearly 35 times that of solar PV because of its relatively labour-intensive nature. It could account for nearly four-fifths of Odisha’s projected renewable-energy jobs by 2030, creating opportunities particularly in installation and operations and maintenance services. The report also highlights its potential to support local employment and entrepreneurship in remote and underserved areas.
Green hydrogen, EVs Major job drivers
Odisha’s approved green investment pipeline is expected to add 48,405 jobs across emerging sectors. Green hydrogen and green ammonia account for the largest share, with an estimated 24,138 jobs. EV and battery/storage projects could generate 15,755 jobs, while bioenergy and the circular economy could add 7,573 jobs. Compressed biogas and fermented organic manure projects account for another 939 jobs.
The report also identifies formal waste recycling as a source of employment. Plastic and e-waste recycling together could generate about 3,303 formal jobs by 2030 and 4,598 by 2035. It separately estimates that informal municipal solid waste recovery could support around 6,645 livelihoods by 2030, increasing to approximately 12,722 by 2035 if the sector expands and becomes progressively formalised.
A much larger employment potential has been identified in bioeconomy and nature-based solutions. The report puts the potential at around five lakh jobs over the next decade through activities such as agroforestry, forest management and mangrove restoration. However, it explicitly classifies this as a conditional scale-up estimate rather than a committed employment projection.
Existing coal and thermal workforce faces transition
The report cautions that Odisha’s green transition will not simply create new employment; it will also transform existing jobs in traditional industries. Coal mining currently employs 47,657 workers, including 27,631 permanent and 20,026 contractual workers. Commercial coal-based thermal power employs another 14,230 workers, while around 320,801 workers are employed in factories classified as potentially high- or medium-impact sectors requiring transition preparedness.
At least 60% of workers in these sectors are estimated to be in an age group where skilling, reskilling or upskilling could provide a pathway to continued employment. The report therefore calls for transition planning well ahead of technological and industrial changes.
The occupational assessment also indicates substantial scope for transferring existing skills. About 89% of the 45 coal-mining roles profiled were found to have high transferability to metal and critical-mineral mining, with the principal gaps involving mineral-specific operations, safety requirements and certification rather than core technical competencies.
For thermal power workers, more than 75% of the 52 technical and operational roles assessed showed moderate-to-high transferability to renewable energy and green hydrogen. Electrical, mechanical, control and instrumentation workers could transition through targeted bridging and reskilling programmes.
Technical skills remain the biggest constraint
Despite Odisha’s relatively strong labour market, the report identifies technical preparedness as a major bottleneck. The state’s working-age labour force participation rate stood at 67.9% in 2025, while unemployment was 3.3%. However, only 3.34% of the working-age population had technical education, with the share at 1.57% among women and 5.33% among men. Formal vocational training reached just 2.79% of working-age adults.
Among young people, technical education improved from 1.76% in 2018 to 4.22% in 2025. Yet 95.78% of youth still had no technical education in 2025. Formal vocational training reached only 4.15%, although the proportion with no form of training fell from 92.74% to 68.38%.
The report says much of the growth in training has come through hereditary learning and on-the-job experience rather than formal, certified programmes. This creates a challenge for green industries where recognised technical competencies and certifications are increasingly important.
Women face a major skilling gap
The gender gap is particularly pronounced in workplace-based training. In 2025, 19.5% of working-age men received on-the-job training compared with only 4.1% of women — a gap of nearly five times.
The report warns that without targeted interventions in laboratory and workshop-based training, apprenticeships, workplace learning and formal employment, women could remain underrepresented in technology-intensive sectors such as renewable energy and green hydrogen.
Odisha already has a sizeable skilling infrastructure, including 489 ITIs, 161 polytechnics, 328 PMKVY centres, 29 Jan Shikshan Sansthans, apprenticeship establishments and the World Skill Center. However, the report finds that green skilling has not yet been fully integrated into mainstream technical education.
The report notes that only 7% of surveyed ITI students were enrolled in green courses, while 45% were unaware that such courses existed. Fewer than 15% of trainers had received structured exposure to renewable-energy or EV technologies.
Dedicated green jobs mission proposed
The report recommends establishing a dedicated green jobs and skilling mission to forecast labour demand, coordinate existing programmes and set targets for green enrolment and placement.
It proposes that at least 50% of relevant ITIs, polytechnics and other priority institutions offer green or transition programmes by 2030, rising to at least 75% by 2035. It also calls for green competencies to be integrated into at least half of priority technical and vocational trades by 2030 and all relevant priority trades by 2035.
The proposed framework also includes greater workplace exposure, green apprenticeships and trainer development. The report recommends that at least 25% of apprenticeships in identified priority green and transition occupations be green by 2030, rising to 40% by 2035.
It further recommends creating a green-enterprise window under programmes such as Nano Unicorn, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Mission Shakti and MSME schemes. Potential areas include decentralised solar services, EV servicing, repair and recycling, resource-efficient production, sustainable agriculture and forest-based livelihoods.
The report’s central message is that Odisha has a substantial opportunity to turn its green investment push into employment, but investment alone will not guarantee jobs for local workers. The state will need to connect green-sector investment with technical education, certification, apprenticeships, industry partnerships and placement systems while simultaneously preparing workers in coal, thermal power and other traditional industries for the transition.
